a plane carrying ann romney just made an emergency landing. she, of course, is the wife of republican presidential candidate mitt romney. campaign officials say an electrical problem appears to have sparked a fire that caused smoke to fill the cabin. mrs. romney was on a flight from omaha, nebraska, to los angeles when the problem developed. the plane landed safely in colorado. mitt romney is campaigning in nevada right now. in the meantime, the romneys have just released their tax returns for 2011. steve handelsman on capitol hill now with more on that story. steve? >> reporter: jim, thanks. ann and mitt romney's certified accountant reported the candidate paid the federal government every dollar he owed over the past 20 filing years. you'll recall when romney's taxes became an issue in the south carolina primary earlier this year, he guesstimated that in 2011 he would pay about $3 million in taxes. now it turns out under $2 million, but apparently compared to what he might have had to pay

last year, he opted to pay in excess. the surprises, mitt romney decided to pay more than he legally had to in 2011 taxes. he made $13.7 million mostly from investments. he donated $4 million to charity. but he only deducted $2.25 million. so he paid $1.9 million, 14.1% in federal income taxes. earlier today in virginia, president obama fired back at romney, who had vowed he would change washington from the inside. >> the change takes more than one term, or even one president. and it certainly takes more than one party. it can't happen if you write off half the nation before you even take office. >> reporter: that's an obama reminder that romney was caught on tape criticizing 47% of americans who pay no federal income tax, but he said feel entitled to benefits. the president made his view

clear via satellite to an aarp meeting in new orleans. >> i want to emphasize, medicare and social security are not handouts. you've paid into these programs your whole lives. >> reporter: romney running mate paul ryan got heckled at aarp, when he pushed changes in center health care. >> the first step to a stronger medicare is to repeal obama care. because it represents the worst of both worlds. >> reporter: the new nbc poll puts ryan and romney behind. vice president biden and the president ahead in three swing states. but now there's the tax factor. the revelation that mitt romney paid more than he had to. aides emphasize romney did that to keep a promise he made in august to pay no less than 13% over each of the last ten tax years. steve handelsman, news4. team coverage continues with

more on the president's virginia visit. he addressed a crowd at the potomac national stadium in woodbridge. how mitt romney's 47% remarks are impacting decisions of area voters. >> help me in joining and welcoming our president, the president of all america. >> reporter: from the introduction on, this rally for president barack obama put a spotlight on republican challenger mitt romney's secretly recorded comments that hit the headlines earlier this week. in a chat with donors, romney said 47% of americans would vote for president obama automatically, because they were dependent on government and saw themselves as victims. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims. i don't see a lot of victims in this crowd today. i see hard-working virginians. >> reporter: while the president was looking out over a crowd of more than 10,000, it's smaller

than the tens of thousands that came to his prince william county four years ago. gop elected leaders take heart in what they see as the campaign for romney. >> i think it's a positive indication for republicans, and a bad indication for barack obama. he's just not fulfilled his promises. and he's not nearly as popular as he was four years ago. >> reporter: romney supporters say they aren't worried about the impact of the 47% comment. >> our policy is focused on raising the incomes of 100% of virginians. >> reporter: a woman who said she's a life-long republican is considering a switch to president obama in part because of romney's words. >> i'm a little bit of a 47%. i just got laid off from my job. so i need unemployment. i am going back to work next week. but, you know, that's part of what this country is about and i feel the republicans have left a lot of us behind this year. >> reporter: these longtime obama backers wrote 47% on their

hands to make their point. election day may still be 46 days off, but in-person absentee voting starts today in the commonwealth. the obama campaign is hoping some of these enthusiastic supporters who are eligible go straight to the election office to vote today. in woodbridge, julie carey, news4. 33,000 u.s. troops sent to afghanistan as part of what was called a surge, have now left. the military says the drawdown was completed a week ahead of schedule. president obama ordered those troops into the country three years ago to push back against taliban attacks. the u.s. soldiers also helped train afghan security forces. 68,000 u.s. troops will remain in afghanistan through 2014. a school bus driver in virginia with an excellent driving record hit and killed a man while students were onboard that bus. this happened yesterday. the 89-year-old man was hit. he was crossing the street at

gallows road. pat, what was going on at the time? >> reporter: well, jim, he was just walking down the street to a shopping center, but that afternoon walk, it had deadly consequences. gallows road, what happened at this annonedale intersection has most people upset. >> it's a dangerous intersection. >> a tragic story. >> i feel horrible for him. >> reporter: the victim here, jun ahn. he was 89 years old. despite his age, they say he got around a lot. yesterday he was walking down columbia pike. he was crossing the street here at gallows road when a school bus, a big school bus moved into the cross walk and struck mr. ahn.

he was taken to the hospital. he died a short time later. >> at 89 years old, to be killed by a school bus, i feel bad for the driver of the school bus, i feel bad for his family. you know, we don't really need that around here. >> it's sad for both parties, really. because, you know, you can glance away and not see someone. but you're supposed to be paying attention when you drive. >> reporter: especially a bus. >> especially a bus. >> reporter: a school bus. >> a school bus. >> reporter: the driver of the bus identified as 30-year-old christinnia fernandez. they say she's charged with failure to pay time and attention. that's a $30 traffic ticket. they say she's been a school bus driver for 11 years, and that she has an slept driving record. she's currently on leave. there were high school students on the bus. they were not injured. police say the investigation into the accident is still

ongoing. >> all right. we got an audio problem with pat collins. but that was pat reporting. it is beautiful outside right now. there are going to be some changes to our weather this weekend, however. doug kammerer has more on the conditions out there right now. >> doreen, we're talking about some major changes. how about temperatures going up by about five to ten degrees tomorrow. and then coming down some 20 degrees during the day on sunday. yeah, we've got some changes in there for sure. 77 degrees at the airport. winds out of the south right now at 12 miles per hour. as far as the rest of the region is concerned, a very nice evening. tonight's beautiful. 75 in gaithersburg, 79 in culpepper, and 78 in fredericksburg. we do have some rain back towards the west. so no rain for us this evening. but back to the west, we're watching some showers and possible thunderstorms for the day tomorrow. some of those could be strong. possibly severe. we'll talk about the storm chances, plus talk about just how cold things are going to

get. the heat may be coming on in the next couple of days. >> oh, my. thank you, doug. postseason baseball is returning to the district for the first time in nearly 80 years. getting tickets to one of the games could leave you with a big expense. news4's erica gonzalez is at nats parks where some fans are determined to go, no matter what it costs, right, erica? >> reporter: absolutely. fans are starting to pile into the stadium. it's game one in a four-game series against the brewers. but a lot of these fans aren't going to get a chance to see game one of the play-offs, because accding to one outlet, it's sold out. >> for postseason games one, two, three, there are currently no tickets available at this time. >> reporter: this is what an operator for tickets.com told me earlier today. washington national play-off tickets went on sale at 10:00 this morning and seemed to all but vanish through this outlet. >> yeah, i'm disappointed. you should have seen all the people who walked away, limped

away from the window. >> reporter: for season ticket holder alex, there's obviously no cause for concern. >> it will be good. they've played to a few empty games back in the early years, so it will be really nice. we're hoping teddy finally wins. >> reporter: albert elliott is willing to spend whatever the cost. >> i'm a native washingtonian, this is my team. i'm going to support my team. i'm going to spend the money that is required to get a ticket. >> reporter: internet sites like stub hub are stocked. >> those who want to come will come. those who want to whine about no play-off tickets for sale, watch it on tv. >> reporter: here at the nats box office, fans are only able to purchase regular season tickets. so, how much are you willing to spend? a lot of people are saying, beg, borrow, steal, although we do not condone that last one. they're going to do whatever it takes in order to come out here and see the nats. did we mention they're in the play-offs? erica gonzalez for news4.

coming up, more bloodshed over an anti-muslim film, as the muslim world erupts on a holliday. metro being sued over a new ad and the transit system is willing to go to court to prevent it from going up. after a lot of waiting and watching, we finally have our first good look at d.c.'s brand-new panda cub. hidden talents here at nbc 4 are revealed.

protests over an anti-islam film made in the u.s. turned deadly in pakistan today. 17 people dead, nearly 200 others were hurt. they burned the u.s. flag on friday. it's a holliday for muslims. the violence came despite the pakistani government's call for peace. tens of thousands took to the streets across the muslim world. some chanting death to america, in iraq and afghanistan.

organizers called for the u.s. to ban the film criticizing freedom of speech. pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi is on a tour of the u.s. she is one of the world's most iconic former political prisoners until she was released from house arrest in myanmar two years ago. today, she sat down with nbc's ann curry to talk about her mission. >> what is the most important message that you have to all the people around the world who are struggling as you have for freedom? for democracy? >> it's the same struggle for everybody everywhere. because unless we are free, we cannot really realize our own potential. and if we can't realize our own potential, we are like a crippled tree. it would be a stunted growth. and because of that, we all want to be free. free to be able to realize one's own potential. but obviously without hurting

the chances of other people to realize theirs. >> you can watch more of ann curry's interview with aung san suu kyi tonight on "nightly news" with brian williams. more on the emergency landing involving the plane carrying ann romney, the wife of republican presidential nominee mitt romney. smoke filled the cabin of the plane. mrs. romney was on a flight from omaha to los angeles. the plane landed safely in colorado. the romney campaign tweeted a photo of firefighters boarding the plane. mitt romy is campaigning in nevada right now. campaign officials say he has talked to his wife since the plane landed and everybody onboard is fine. the romneys released their tax returns. david gregory joins us now to talk about that, and more. i'm curious to know, david, what do we make of this? why now? >> i think that's got a lot of republicans scratching their heads.

they've already taken a beating for not releasing more. now he releases one of those two years, and revives the debate about why not more. it's a fitting end to what's been a horrible end to the romney campaign. he pays 14%. he doesn't get a salary until earned income off investments. but that's not how most people do it. and especially during the week when he talked about writing off half the country because, you know, they're all too dependent on the government. >> i wonder if that was the thing that made him finally release the tax results, because he is talking about people who aren't paying taxes. >> i don't know that that was it. i think there was some need to finally do it. but again, i don't know why now. i think he had pledged to do two years. there is an upside that they argue, paul ryan made this point, look how much he gave to charity. he's getting caught up in some of his own past statements. he said you should only pay what you owe and nothing more. they paid much more than they

owed so they could keep that statement true when he said he paid no less than 13%. if he had paid what he really owed in taxes, it would have been about 9%. so he ended up paying more. >> let's switch gears and talk about the senate debate yesterday, george allen, tim kaine. what's your takeaway from that? >> there's a heavy emphasis on fiscal issues and taxes. the fact that kaine certainly made news saying he would be open to all virginians paying a minimum of federal taxes, something that got governor allen on him. but one of the other things is, the importance of independent voters in virginia. you saw both sides really going out of their way to try to tamp down some of the name calling, to talk about dysfunction in washington. i think that's a recognition of the fact that that's going to matter in the state. >> what do you have coming up?

>> we'll debate the 47% issue. is it really a problem in the country? if so, what should be done about it? romney unleashed this debate. >> it's not going away, is it. thank you, david gregory. >> thanks. we want to remind people that the debate will be broadcast in its entirety tomorrow -- or rather sunday in "meet the press" 10:30 sunday mornings right here on nbc 4. and doug is here with one more check of the weather. >> please. >> you know, i don't want to embarrass him. derrick is a cool dude. but we've got to do this. david the other day, you remember? what do you call that again? >> this is gangnam style. >> wow! busting moves. >> let me explain something to you. if there's rapper hip-hop on, i'm ready to go.

if there's korean rap available, nothing stopping me. >> a little irish jig in there, too. >> all right. that was uncalled for. >> the other side of david gregory. only seen here. >> we think you may be wasting your talents. >> unfortunately my kids know the other side. they're like, dad, stop. >> thanks, david. doug, how about our weekend weather? so much going on this weekend. >> there are a ton of events this weekend. obviously for the sporting enthusiasts, nats in the play-off hunt now. talking about today's game, tomorrow's game, sunday's game and the redskins playing on sunday, too. out there right now, plenty of sunshine. that's what we'll continue to see across our area throughout the next 40 minutes before the sun goes down. i want to show you a great shot down there from national harbor. over towards the potomac in the

woodrow wilson bridge. got up to 80 degrees today. 78 the average high. fall officially begins tomorrow at 10:49. and tomorrow's going to feel more like summer. but fall's coming quick. 77 as far as the temperature is right now. winds out of the south about 12 miles per hour. temperatures around the region. 73 in winchester. 76 in martinsburg. 74 down towards the pax river. no matter what you have planned tonight, don't worry about any chances for rain. don't even worry about the cool temperatures. it's going to be nice and mild this evening. no rain out there right now. out to the west we're looking at shower activity and some thunderstorms, too. some strong thunderstorms in through illinois, and indiana. we're going to watch this system move to the east, and we are watching for a threat of severe weather. you see the possible severe storms, slight risk of severe weather from the severe weather center in oklahoma. it shows the district and much of maryland along the chesapeake bay, if you live near the

chesapea chesapeake, you have the best chance of seeing some of these storms. south and east, you're not in the area for slight risk, but we still do have a chance for thunderstorms here. we're going to be talking about the weekend, watching out for the storms for tomorrow. the good news is, i don't think we'll see a very widely scattered event like we've seen so many times this summer. nice weather today. one front to the north. that one's a warm front that brings in more warm air tomorrow. we get in the mid to upper 80s ahead of this frontal boundary. then you see the showers associated with it. behind it, the first full day of fall is going to feel like it. many of you will stay in the 60s all day long. maybe around 70 degrees in the district. it's going to get really chilly over the next couple of days. tonight, no rain across our area. watch what happens during the day tomorrow. a few clouds early. no problem there. tomorrow afternoon, no problem. 1:00 game for the nats, no problem there either. around 5:00 we start to see the showers and thunderstorms develop down in portions of

eastern maryland, southern maryland and along the eastern shore. that's where we're going to see the best chance for strong storms. once again, i think most of us should be okay. i would not cancel any plans. all of these storms will be out of here by sunday night. now, mostly clear. just great this evening. temperature 70 to 75 degrees. tomorrow morning, waking up to some rather nice numbers. a lot warmer than it has been. 57 to 64 degrees. a few clouds. not as cool. and a great start to your saturday. saturday's going to be a great day for the most part. partly sunny. afternoon storm chance. some of those could be strong. keep a watchful eye to the sky. 83 to 87 degrees. 86 on saturday. but only 66 for many of you on sunday. 70 in the district. overnight sunday night into early monday morning, we are going to be cold. 51 in the city. some areas may actually get in the upper 30s. 72 for monday, 75 on tuesday.

staying in the 70s all week next week. once again, we continue to watch for tomorrow. >> baseball weather saturday, football weather sunday. >> that's exactly right. >> thanks, doug. >> she's pretty quick, isn't she? looking back at the civil rights movement. hostage taking situation in a high-rise, and the guy was posting on facebook during a standoff with the cops. coming up in sports, the nats lock up a trip to october. and while the terps travel to the country roads of west virginia, the redskins excited about coming home. this message. experiences classrooms. sizes don't matter... by 20%. teaching to some test... he personally cannot relate to. education, children.

as anyone can attest, it can be a challenge to catchkach cat

in the district. now there's a battle raging with black vans and taxi cabs. >> the d.c. council is set to consider new regulations that aren't going over well with car companies like the popular uuber. >> reporter: the beeping of his iphone is what peter farris hears when a customer needs a ride. the service privately opened wn sedans has become very popular. >> we started our business because of uuber. the client base, the way that uuber does business with its partners, we were able to start our business because uuber is around. >> reporter: even before the sedan service became popular is gained attention of the d.c. taxi commission. >> you don't have 20 cars or more, you're out of business.

all right? so uuber partners with all these companies, connects the riders to the drivers that are close to them, and if all of our partners, our hundreds of partners are out of business, so are we. >> reporter: d.c. taxi cab commissioner said the 20-car requirement is not new designed legislation to put uuber out of business. >> they are not, without two exceptions, have made any effort to confer with us, to deal with us. i've never met anybody from uuber. except their attorney. >> reporter: uuber customers are closely following the battle. the commissioner's cell phone number is part of a support campaign. >> the city's residents are speaking by using us so much. >> reporter: both sides agree that the somewhat heated back-and-forth could eventually make both car services and taxi